The Wall Street Journal reported that Google has been secretly harvesting user information from Safari browsers. In the headline story, WSJ called out Google's action as "iPhone tracking" which was done against privacy ...

In response to disasters around the country, online communities have become the communication tool of choice during times of emergency for individuals and major organizations. Agencies such as CDC Emergency and the American Red Cross have taken to the social media stream with 1,244,357 and 254,056 followers on Twitter respectively.

When the Red River crested at record flooding levels earlier this year in North Dakota and Minnesota, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was reaching 2,600 people with updates on the situation, according to a report compiled by CreditLoan.

According to a survey conducted by the Red Cross this past summer, in the event of a natural disaster, over half said they would use social media to let loved-ones know that they were Ok.

If in trouble, 22 percent said they would use online messaging through email or posts on a website to seek help while 20 percent would walk to the nearest police, fire or EMS station.

While first amendment and privacy activists on all sides of the political spectrum may share in many of the concerns expressed by Anonymous’ actions in protest against ACTA and Google, some strongly question the role that Anonymous plays in politics. While the collective has been effective in achieving some good results on a variety of issues, such as (with The Pirate Bay) opening up internet access to the Iranian protesters during the country’s 2009 elections, and fighting child pornography, the collective has no “official” organizational structure that would maintain control of decisions on targets or the tactics used in pursuing those targets.

This has its drawbacks, which are not insignificant. Rogue elements of Anonymous have often operated in dubious ways, such as releasing the personal information of targets’ family members and associates, sometimes even getting the target or information wrong. Others have been known to release such information, and then turn to social networking sites to direct others to the details and to incite further harassment or harm. Just last week, Anonymous posted the information of various officials in Oakland, CA in response to the city’s police force blocking Occupy protesters from occupying a city convention center. Some of the information was not correct.

Today, Nimble launches a missing piece of the Web. The 2.0 version of its relationship management software is now available, and it's free for individual users. Nimble consolidates your social network contacts and activity.

Update: Strangely the GNU Public Licensed BuddyPress has had its page taken down by Automattic and replaced with default “coming soon” message with links to the code removed (cache of the original page here). Same with the project page on Google Code, the main page having only just been pulled as the original page is still available to be viewed via Google cache. A subsidiary page with access to the plugin hasn’t been deleted by Automattic yet and is available here. Update 2: The code is back up now. It was taken down temporarily in anticipation of a move to a new URL buddypress.org (not live yet).

Ginger says: Just think about it for a minute, and consider what social media could be like using augmented reality technologies. That's a whole different game, folks... and it's closer than you think!

Augmented reality is about to change the way we browse the Internet and consume digital information. Today, we use our mouse or fingers to interact with our screens and devices.

Q+A - The complex interplay of social media and privacyReuters IndiaBy Alexei Oreskovic and Gerry Shih | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Living in the world of social networking and mobile smartphones means trading away some of your personal information.

Influencers on social media are either passionate individuals who turn out to be specialists or professionals involved who use Web 2.0 tools as part of their work. They take advantage of their presence on social networks for personal gain or as representative (or ambassador) a brand, company or organization. They produce and sharing relevant content, appealing to the interests of a community. This can result in regularly prompting discussions and interactions that might have influence on behaviors.

Police jump into social mediaBurbank LeaderBurbank's first venture into the world of social media comes through Nixle Connect, and on Friday, Burbank police's Twitter account, @BurbankPD, was activated.

My Social Media Management WishList

After reading a great post by @jeffbullas, my comment actually turned into more of a wishlist of what I'd love to see in ONE social media management platform. Here's hoping someone with a solution, or the time, dedication, and ability takes these things into consideration before building such a thing! LOL :)

It can be frustrating when you feel that you’re doing everything right (posting good content on the appropriate platforms in the best way possible) and you’re still not getting many clicks. But console yourself by thinking about all of the links that you see throughout the day that you don’t click on. Just spending time on social media platforms is great way to forge relationships, keep up on industry news and find inspiration for that next blog post.

Once you start blogging and tweeting and interacting with real customers yourself, you quickly learn that registration forms are the death of any social content. That blatant promotion is the quickest way to get blacklisted. That offering no real value actually hurts your brand. And that understanding customers, offering them something of value and engaging with them regularly is the most satisfying marketing you can do. Better yet, each and every marketer, regardless of title or position, can participate and reap the rewards and personal satisfaction of meeting customer needs.

Marketers who do social, get social and can provide leadership to those who don’t!

Ginger says: I wish they'd stay out of it. "A new advertising platform"... because that's exactly what the world needs. YASP (Yet another spam platform)

"Microsoft used Social Media Week to launch a new advertising platform aimed at incorporating user reviews and comments into social media sites. The company said People Powered Stories will be the first of several social ..."

Ginger says: More people should write in this 'matter of fact', honest manner. I respect anyone that says "... it's time to suck it up" in a public forum. As parents, it's our responsibility... as humans, it's our right. So... suck it up, and embrace the technology our kids are so attached to. Use it to your advantage, instead of it being used to take advantage of your neglect. ;)

"CTV.caParents need to understand social mediaMSU State News (blog)Parents today have to be up to date on using social media websites, cell phones, email and everything else in order to keep track of their kids like they used to."

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.